Tuesday´s News

Colombian president warns U.S., Europe to shape up

From: www.cnn.com

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has a message for Europe and the United States: "Put your house in order."

In an interview with CNN's Richard Quest, the Colombian president, who took office in August of last year, said he sees an "economic hurricane" sweeping the industrialized world.

His warnings are not just empty talk. The South American country's economy is expected to grow 5.5 percent this year. It is among the group of countries financial analysts call the "CIVETS": Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey and South Africa.

As HSBC CEO Michael Geoghegan described them in a speech in London last year, these countries have a "large, young, growing population. Each has a diverse and dynamic economy. And each, in relative terms, is politically stable." A civet is also a small, nocturnal mammal with a long body and short legs that is native to the tropical forests of Asia and Africa.

Asked by Quest what advice Santos would give to the United States and Europe, Santos said now is the time to act decisively.

"We're saying what they told us 10 years ago," Santos said. "Put your house in order; because your disorder is affecting us. Take the decisions that are necessary. Have the political will and the political capacity to make unpopular decisions that are necessary because you're going to affect the whole world if you continue with this uncertainty."

Santos also warned that the United States and Europe cannot get out of trouble by printing money and using creative monetary policy. "That money will not stay (in their countries) because it will go after a better return (somewhere else)," he said.

Santos also said that another global financial crisis would erase the growth achieved by countries such as his in the past decade.

Word of the Day

Will
\wəl, (ə)l, əl, ˈwil\
Origin: Middle English (1st & 3d singular present indicative), from Old English wille (infinitive wyllan); akin to Old High German wili (3d singular present indicative) wills, Latin velle to wish, will
First Known Use: before 12th century
Verb
transitive verb
1: desire, wish <call it what you will>
2 a : to order or direct by a will <willed that her property be divided among her children>; b : to dispose of by or as if by a will : bequeath <willed his entire estate to this wife>
3a : to determine by an act of choice; b : decree, ordain <Providence wills it>; c : intend, purpose; d: to cause or change by an act of will <believed he could will himself to succeed>; also : to try to do so
verbal auxiliary
1—used to express desire, choice, willingness, consent, or in negative constructions refusal <no one would take the job> <if we will all do our best> <will you please stop that racket>
2—used to express frequent, customary, or habitual action or natural tendency or disposition <will get angry over nothing> <will work one day and loaf the next>
3—used to express futurity <tomorrow morning I will wake up in this first-class hotel suite — Tennessee Williams>
4—used to express capability or sufficiency <the back seat will hold three passengers>
5—used to express probability and often equivalent to the simple verb <that will be the babysitter>
6a —used to express determination, insistence, persistence, or willfulness <I have made up my mind to go and go I will>; b —used to express inevitability <accidents will happen>
7—used to express a command, exhortation, or injunction <you will do as I say, at once>
intransitive verb
1: to have a wish or desire <whether we will or no>
2: to exercise the will
3: choose <do as you will>
noun
1: desire, wish: as
2 a: disposition, inclination <where there's a will there's a way>; b : appetite, passion; c : choice, determination
3 a : something desired; especially : a choice or determination of one having authority or power; b (1) archaic : request, command (2) [from the phrase our will is which introduces it] : the part of a summons expressing a royal command
4: the act, process, or experience of willing : volition
5 a : mental powers manifested as wishing, choosing, desiring, or intending; b : a disposition to act according to principles or ends; c : the collective desire of a group <the will of the people>
6: the power of control over one's own actions or emotions <a man of iron will>
7: a legal declaration of a person's wishes regarding the disposal of his or her property or estate after death; especially : a written instrument legally executed by which a person makes disposition of his or her estate to take effect after death

More Vocabulary

Erase: v. to remove from existence or memory
Office: n. a special duty, charge, or position conferred by an exercise of governmental authority and for a public purpose : a position of authority to exercise a public function and to receive whatever emoluments may belong to it
Policy: n. prudence or wisdom in the management of affairs
Relative: adj. relevant, pertinent

Idioms & Phrases

Put one's house in order: to put one's business or personal affairs into good order. (As if one were cleaning one's house.) 

• There was some trouble in the department office and the manager was told to put his house in order.

Monday´s News

Intangible heritage list being overloaded, U.N. says

From: www.amcostarica.com

The United Nations-managed Intangible Heritage List shines a spotlight on the vast range of global traditions – from Korean dance to French gastronomy to Costa Rican ox carts - but risks becoming a victim of its own success, a senior United Nations official warned Tuesday.

“Intangible cultural heritage is our bridge from the past to the future,” said Irina Bokova, director-general of the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. She was speaking at the opening ceremony of the sixth session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Heritage, held in Bali, Indonesia.

“It is the precious possession of communities, groups and individuals. Only they can safeguard it and pass it on to generations to come,” she said, further noting that the Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and member states should support all cultural preservation efforts “in every way we can.”

Seventy-nine nominations will be examined during the present session, including saman dance from Indonesia, fado music from Portugal and mariachi music from Mexico. Mali, Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire have presented a joint nomination for the balafon, an instrument prominent among their Senufo communities.

“This is an unmanageable workload,” Ms. Bokova said, “and is, inevitably, unsatisfactory for states parties and the communities whose intangible heritage is concerned. They will be disappointed if the convention is unable to meet their expectations.”

“States must now show restraint and everybody must understand that the system has reached, or even gone beyond, its own limits. A maximum of about 60 nominations only could be treated in each session under the present conditions,” she added, arguing that the inscriptions also had to be more geographically diverse for the list to remain credible.

Since its creation in 2008, the Intangible Heritage List includes a swathe of global cultural expressions, ranging from Turkey’s Kirkpinar oil wrestling festival and the Mediterranean diet to the watertight-bulkhead technology of Chinese junks and the Peruvian scissor dance.

Meanwhile, while visiting Indonesia, Ms. Bokova met with the country’s minister of education and culture, Mohammad Nuh, who announced that his government would contribute $10 million to help support the Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's activities and cover its recent budget shortfall.

The United States – which contributes 22 per cent of the Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization budget – suspended its dues after the agency admitted Palestine as a full member Oct. 31.

Word of the Day

Safeguard
safe·guard: \sāf-ˌgärd\
Origin: Middle English saufgarde, from Anglo-French, from sauf safe + garde guard
First Known Use: 14th century
Noun
1a: pass, safe-conduct; b: convoy, escort
2 a: a precautionary measure, stipulation, or device; b: a technical contrivance to prevent accident
Verb
transitive verb
1: to provide a safeguard for
2: to make safe: protect

More Vocabulary

Inscribe: v. to enter on a list: enroll
Intangible: adj. not made of physical substance: not able to be touched
Junk: n. any of various ships of Chinese waters with bluff lines, a high poop and overhanging stem, little or no keel, high pole masts, and a deep rudder
Preserve: v. to keep safe from injury, harm, or destruction: protect
Shortfall: n. a failure to come up to expectation or need
Swathe: n. an enveloping medium

Thursday Tidbits - Common Mistakes with the Verb To Be...

Common Mistakes with the Verb To Be

In every language “to be” is one of the most common verbs. It is also one of the most difficult to use correctly. Here are some common mistakes often made with the English verb "to be."

Common Mistakes:

Using to be when another verb should be used

Incorrect: I am agree.

Correct: I agree.

Explanation: In English, to agree is a verb, so we can use it as the main verb in the sentence.

Using to have in place of to be

Incorrect: I have 45 years. She has hungry.

Correct: I am 45 years old. She is hungry.

Explanation: When discussing ages or feelings, English uses to be. Both of these examples show adjectives describing the subject, and with adjectives we use to be.

Check yourself

Choose the correct option in the following sentences.

1. I (am/have/no verb) 13 years old.
2. I (am/have/no verb) a turtle. He (is/has/no verb) 100 years old.
3. I (am/have/no verb) so happy, that you (are/have/no verb) agree with me.
4. I (haven’t/am not/no verb) eaten in hours. I (am/verb/no verb) hungry.
5. I (have/am/no verb) a friend named Sally and she (is/has/no verb) 32 years old.

 Answers to last week’s Check Yourself

1. I (have work/have been working/am working) for five years.
2. Susie (has go/is going/has been going) to the same gym since 1992.
3. Harry (ran/ has been running) for 2 hours! I hope he stops soon.
4. My friend (has been reading/read) the same book for five months. She reads slowly.
5. Yesterday Mary (worked/has been working) for five hours before she ate lunch.

The Weird and the Wonderful

Butt injection with 'Fix a Flat' leads to arrest

Transgender woman charged with posing as doctor in Miami area

From: www.mnsbc.com

A Miami Gardens transgender woman is facing charges of practicing medicine without a license after police say she injected a patient's rear with everything but the kitchen sink in an illegal cosmetic surgery procedure.

Oneal Ron Morris, 30, was arrested Friday after an investigation by Miami Gardens Police and the Florida Department of Health.

According to police, the victim saw Morris in May and was injected in her buttocks with a substance consisting of cement, "Fix a Flat," mineral oil and super glue.

The amateur incision was then sealed with super glue, police said. The victim was later hospitalized with a serious medical condition as a result of the injections.

Morris, who police say is a man but appears to look like a woman and sports an apparently enhanced rear herself in arrest photos, was being held on $7,500 bond. It was unknown whether she has an attorney.   

Police believe there may be other victims of Morris who may be afraid to come forward. They said the victims haven't done anything illegal and shouldn't be afraid to come forward.

Word of the Day

Amateur
am·a·teur:  \a-mə-tər, -tu̇r, -tyu̇r, -chu̇r, -chər\
Origin: French, from Latin amator lover, from amare to love
First Known Use: 1777
Noun
1: devotee, admirer
2: one who engages in a pursuit, study, science, or sport as a pastime rather than as a profession
3: one lacking in experience and competence in an art or science

More Vocabulary

Inject: v. to force a fluid into (as for medical purposes) <inject a drug into the bloodstream>
Rear: n. buttocks
Sport: v. to display or wear usually ostentatiously: boast <sporting expensive new shoes>
Transgender: adj. of, relating to, or being a person (as a transsexual or transvestite) who identifies with or expresses a gender identity that differs from the one which corresponds to the person's sex at birth

Tuesday´s News

Costa Rica: Government's Answer Is To Create New Taxes

From: www.insidecostarica.com

Taxes are paid by everyone, like it or not. However, in most cases a country's tax structure is unfair and Costa Rica is no exception. For instance, the 13% Sales Tax represents 45% of revenue for the government and is paid by everyone irrelevant of their income and social status.

Tax on income and profits represents 30% of all government revenue, while at the other extreme are exports, which has grown enormously of late, where the sector only contributes 0.19% of all tax revenues.

The "unfair" structure does not change with the Plan Fiscal (Tax Plan) promoted by the government and the Partido Acción Ciudadana (PAC).

The government says that the progressivity of the tax regime does not occur in the collection, but the use of the money that they say, goes to the poorest.

“In what does the government spend our money?” is a question being asked by many as they are being asked to contribute more.

The fact is that the government of Abel Pacheco (2002-2006) had a surplus, which disappeared during the Arias administration (2006-2010), when government expenditures tripled.

So, where did the money go? Mainly in wages or better put, the increase in bureaucracy, as salary expenditures more than doubled during the period.

The other question is, “Is there a real cut in expenses?”

This year the government will pay out an estimated at ¢6.7 billion colones in legal expenses and another ¢38 billion colones to feed the ailing Caja Costarricense del Seguro Social (CCSS).

Many state institutions spend tons of money in varying services, which are supposed to better government services and infrastructure, something that is not being felt by the public.

Another area where the government spends money is in "propaganda", this year spending 27% over last, for a pay out by taxpayers of ¢48.9 billion colones.

Another fact contributing to the government's financial crisis is its inability to properly collect on taxes. According to the Contraloría General de la República (Comptroller's Office), lost revenue due to improper collection last year was around ¢200 billion colones, slightly less than what the government expects to collect with the new tax plan.

Experts say that tax evasion - mainly to improper collections- is equal to two tax plans the government expects to adopt for Christmas.

The government's answers to most of the questions are simply to create new taxes.

Word of the Day

Structure
struc·ture : \strək-chər\
Origin: Middle English, from Latin structura, from structus, past participle of struere to heap up, build — more at strew
First Known Use: 15th century
Noun
1: the action of building : construction
2 a: something (as a building) that is constructed; b: something arranged in a definite pattern of organization <a rigid totalitarian structure — J. L. Hess> <leaves and other plant structures>
3: manner of construction : makeup <Gothic in structure>
4 a : the arrangement of particles or parts in a substance or body <soil structure> <molecular structure>; b : organization of parts as dominated by the general character of the whole <economic structure> <personality structure>; c : coherent form or organization <tried to give some structure to the children's lives>
5: the aggregate of elements of an entity in their relationships to each other <the structure of a language>
Verb
1: to form into or according to a structure
2: construct

More Vocabulary

Enormous: adj. marked by extraordinarily great size, number, or degree; especially: exceeding usual bounds or accepted notions
Irrelevant: adj. not relevant : inapplicable
Surplus: n. the amount that remains when use or need is satisfied

Love those Phrasal Verbs!

Pay out: to distribute (money, wages, etc.); disburse

• Do you happen to know the amount of the payout that was done for the last fiscal year to the health ministry?

Monday´s News

As year winds down, Chinchilla in search of key tax reform victory

From: www.ticotimes.net

 

President Laura Chinchilla’s defining moment in her first years in office will likely come down to a vote in the Legislative Assembly on fiscal reform.

As Costa Rica’s fiscal deficit approaches $7 billion, a victory on tax reform could generate an additional $850 million annually in badly needed government revenue.

Tax reform has eluded the previous three administrations and would be a political victory for the president, who has yet to show significant progress on many of her campaign promises.

Lawmakers will vote on the controversial reform package next month. In the lead-up to that vote, this week Chinchilla and members of her Cabinet negotiated with various business sectors to allay fears that new taxes could cause production costs and consumer prices to skyrocket.

Over two days, members of the Chamber of Industries, the Food Industry Chamber, the Association of Engineers and Architects, the Costa Rican Construction Chamber, farmers groups and the Agriculture and Livestock  Ministry reached separate agreements with Chinchilla’s administration, promising to support the plan in exchange for a reduced value-added tax, or VAT. Initially, the plan called for a universal 14 percent VAT.

“The government has openly listened to our concerns in the industrial sector about the effect the VAT would have on industrial products and basic consumer prices,” said Marco Meneses, president of the Chamber of Industries. “After a process of constructive dialogue, the impact of the tax proposed in the original plan has been significantly reduced to meet the demands of the chamber.”

Under the new agreements, the VAT for raw materials and production equipment in the industrial sector would be reduced to 2 percent. The VAT on food items and household products included in the country’s basket of consumer goods was reduced to 3-4 percent.

“The original proposal was drafted in a way that would have been a large hit to the wallets of national consumers and could have severely damaged several vital production sectors,” said Marco Cercone, the chamber’s president. “Thanks to the government’s attention to and acceptance of our requests, this potential disaster was averted.”

On the Losing End

Despite this week’s gains, opposition to the reform package remains strong. On Tuesday, 200 workers from six free-zone companies protested in front of the Legislative Assembly, shouting “¡Zonas francas!” (Free zones!) as lawmakers entered the building.

Free-zone companies have been the most vocal in opposing the reform plan. If the overhaul passes, foreign companies that begin operations in Costa Rica’s free zones after 2015 will be taxed 15 percent on earnings. Legislators from the Citizen Action Party (PAC), which drafted the plan with Chinchilla’s government, have said that free-zone companies already located in Costa Rica would not be subjected to the tax if they reinvest after 2015.

But according to Gabriela Llobet, general manager of the Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency, those promises are not in writing.

“Free-zone businesses are asking for a text that clearly states that businesses already located in free zones are not going to be affected by the 15 percent tax after 2015,” Llobet told The Tico Times. “PAC, the government and the Finance Ministry are yet to add text to the law. … If the law is passed and makes existing companies pay 15 percent income tax on reinvestments, they will definitely not consider Costa Rica as an option for reinvestment.”

Llobet urged lawmakers in the assembly’s fiscal reform commission to put those changes in writing this week, before the bill goes to the assembly floor for discussion.

Some companies have already put investments on hold. Aegis, a technology outsourcing company in Tilarán, in the northwest Guanacaste province, is delaying plans to build a Spanish-language call center that would employ up to 400 workers.

Tilarán Vice Mayor Mauren Ugalde said the decision to delay construction of the center has caused uncertainty and disappointment among residents.

“We took all the steps to bring foreign investment into our town. When Aegis announced that they intended to build a large project in Tilarán, we were ecstatic,” Ugalde said. “There was great expectation from the community and for the town’s youth. … Now, with such uncertainty about the investment, residents are losing hope for potential jobs.”

German Herrera, production manager at Panduit, a free-zone company in the Central Valley town of Grecia, also cited job loss fears as a reason for attending Tuesday’s protests.

“I’ve worked in free zones for 20 years. I started as an uneducated employee; my company funded my education, and now I am a manager,” Herrera said. “I hoped my children would follow the same path. If the reform is approved, that future will be in jeopardy.”

Mixed Signals?

Chinchilla has visited the United States three times this year to attract investment. Led by Foreign Trade Minister Anabel González, Chinchilla’s administration hopes to attract $9 billion in foreign investment by 2014. Last year, foreign investment totaled $1.5 billion, and the goal for 2011 is $1.9 billion.

On Nov. 4, González, who accompanied Chinchilla during the U.S. visits, told members of the legislative commission studying reform that she opposes the president’s proposed tax structure.

“For an investor, stability in a country’s legal framework is very important. It provides confidence for investments not only in the short term, but for future investment planning in the country,” González said. “A change in the current legislation could put further investment at risk, which is a very worrying prospect for the country’s economic sector.”

This week, Llobet and other critics of the plan noted the mixed signals that tax hikes on potential foreign investors would create.

“It seems like a contradiction to say that we are a government that wants to promote foreign direct investment, while at the same time we are going to risk the stability of the business environment that we worked so hard to create,” Llobet said.

Luis Guillermo Solís, a political analyst and member of PAC, said that the tax rate is only part of the decision-making process of company managers looking to invest in Costa Rica.

“The amount of income tax in a country isn’t the only factor that companies consider when choosing a country to invest in,” Solís said. “It is one piece of the whole package, which includes things like quality of living, education level, infrastructure, competitiveness and more. A tax isn’t the most important factor considered.”

Lawmakers have already filed more than 2,000 motions against the reform plan, which is scheduled to reach the assembly floor next week. Commission president Edgardo Araya said he expects a vote on the bill by the end of the year.

“It seems that even with a plan that [has] deficiencies and limits, support is rallying behind it, because it is understood that it will put the country in a better place financially than it is now,” Solís said. “There is no option that exists that will please both sides, but I think that if the plan passes, the president will be very happy with the achievement.”

Word of the Day

Dialogue
di·a·logue: \dī-ə-ˌlȯg, -ˌläg\
Origin: Middle English dialoge, from Anglo-French dialogue, from Latin dialogus, from Greek dialogos, from dialegesthai to converse, from dia- + legein to speak — more at legend
First Known Use: 13th century
Noun
1 a written composition in which two or more characters are represented as conversing
2 a: a conversation between two or more persons; also : a similar exchange between a person and something else (as a computer); b : an exchange of ideas and opinions <organized a series of dialogues on human rights>; c : a discussion between representatives of parties to a conflict that is aimed at resolution <a constructive dialogue between loggers and environmentalists>
3: the conversational element of literary or dramatic composition <very little dialogue in this film>
4: a musical composition for two or more parts suggestive of a conversation
Verbtransitive verb
: to express in dialogue
intransitive verb
: to take part in a dialogue <managers dialoguing with employees>

More Vocabulary

Allay: v. to subdue or reduce in intensity or severity: alleviate
Avert: v. to see coming and ward off : avoid
Deficit: n. an excess of expenditure over revenue
Ecstasy: n. a state of overwhelming emotion; especially : rapturous delight
Elude: v. to escape the perception, understanding, or grasp of
Framework: n. a basic conceptional structure (as of ideas)
Motion: n. an application made to a court or judge to obtain an order, ruling, or direction
Overhaul: v. to investigate or examine thoroughly for repair or revision

Idioms & Phrases

Comes down to: Amount to or be reduced to

• When it comes right down to it, you have to admit he was mistaken.

Thursday Tidbits - using Because of and Due to...

Thursday Tidbits – Using Because of and Due to

Using Because of and Due to

“Because of” and “Due to” are to commonly used phrases in English. They are used in subordinate clauses to explain a face in the main clause. They are always followed by a noun or noun phrase and never with a verb. You can use them at the beginning of sentence or in the middle of a sentence, but if used at the beginning the noun or noun phrase must be followed by a comma. “Because of” and “Due to” are almost interchangeable but there are slight differences.

Because of

Because of is generally used for sentences with a positive or neutral meaning.

EX

Because of my great sales, I received a raise.

Or at the end of a sentence

I received a raise because of my great sales.

Due to

“Due to” can be used in place of “Because of: but it is often used in sentences with a negative connotation.

EX

Due to Toms’ poor sales, he was fired.

Or at the end of a sentence

Tom was fired due to his poor sales.

Common mistakes

Due to I was tired, I went home early.

This is incorrect because after “due to” there is a verb, and “due to” and” because of” are always followed by nouns or noun phrases.

The meeting was called due the rain.

This is incorrect because the sentence is missing “to” after “due.” Many English Learners accidentally leave off the “to” when using “due to.”

Check yourself

Choose the correct option and add a comma if necessary

1. (Because of/Due to) the meeting taking all day, I didn’t get home until midnight.
2. I really enjoy pickles (because of/due to) their flavor.
3. She was almost hit (because of/due to) the man driving recklessly.
4. (Because of/Due to) El Niño, the weather was really rainy.
5. (Because of/Due to) poor sanitation, everyone got sick at the restraint.
6. I really enjoyed the movie (because of/due to) its excellent plot.
7. 
   

Answers to last week’s Check Yourself

1. I (am/have/no verb) 13 years old.
2. I (am/have/no verb) a turtle. He (is/has/no verb) 100 years old.
3. I (am/have/no verb) so happy, that you (are/have/no verb) agree with me.
4. I (have/am/no verb) not eaten in hours. I (am/verb/no verb) hungry.
5. I (have/am/no verb) a friend named sally and she (is/has/no verb) 32 years old